Various Artists - 20 F@#&ING Years - We Ain't Dead Yet

Various Artists - 20 F@#&ING Years - We Ain't Dead Yet
Unlike Ostgut Ton or Hotflush, Detroit's Planet E have decided to present their recent celebratory anniversary compilation as a retrospective. (The looking forward will come later this year.) As such, 20 F@#&ING Years - We Ain't Dead Yet is strictly a referendum on how good the label has been over the past two decades. So while it scarcely needs to be said, let's say it anyway. All together now: Planet E has been pretty f@#&ing great. They've had their lulls, their low patches and even an outright stinker or two. But the 25 tracks presented here are almost all certifiable classics. And the ones that aren't probably should be.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about We Ain't Dead Yet is that Planet E put it all out in the first place. Sure, all the Carl Craig stuff—and he's here in numerous guises—makes sense. It's his imprint. But it took me a minute to remember that Lazy Fat People's "Club Silencio" and Martin Buttrich's "Full Clip," not to mention Moodymann's "Dem Young Sconies" and 4th Wave's "Electroluv" were released by Craig as well. It speaks to Craig's open ears (and open A&R policy) that such things found a home on Planet E.

Despite all of the names that have passed through—Glimpse, Paul Woolford and Vince Watson being just recent examples—Planet E will always remain Carl Craig's label. He's represented well on the compilation as C2, 69, Paperclip People, Tres Demented, as part of Innerzone Orchestra and (possibly?) Urban Tribe's "Repeating Decimal" and under his own name with the eternal "Dominas." It's also quite possible I'm forgetting something. Point is, he's all over We Ain't Dead Yet, reminding you that he made drum & bass, house, techno and whatever you want to call "Demented (Or Just Crazy)."

We Ain't Dead Yet is now available digitally, which means that you can cherrypick your favorites and leave the rest. But it's advisable to grab the whole thing because A) there's no better way to comprehend just how wide Planet E's catalogue has been, B) you're likely to find one or two things that will blow your mind eight months from now and C) Planet E has been pretty f@#&ing great.